It’s nice to find little oases of respite. It doesn’t have to be a Japanese garden, of course. You can find respite nearly anywhere.
In the 1960s, the city of Portland converted an old zoo into a 12-acre garden as part of an effort to promote peace and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Japan. The grounds have been called the most beautiful and authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan by luminaries like Nobuo Matsunaga, the former Japanese ambassador to the United States. The teahouse, the Umami Café, strives to bring the same authentic flair to their fare. While their grassy matcha and roasted-rice teas are always on the menu, their wagashi changes with the turning of the seasons.
To create a meaningful work of art or to make a discovery or invention requires great discipline, self-control, and emotional stability. It requires mastering the forms of your field. […] When you look at the exceptionally creative work of Masters, you must not ignore the years of practice, the endless routines, the hours of doubt, and the tenacious overcoming of obstacles these people endured.
Everyone is heavily influenced by what they’ve experienced firsthand, because what you’ve experienced is more persuasive than something you read about.
That’s one small insight from a bunch in an article nominally about finance. Most of the others also apply to life generally. What’s that old saw from Twain? Something like, “holding a cat by the tail, you’ll learn something through experience that can be learned no other way.” I find it fascinating that, although I’d wager none of you have done that with a cat, we all have a good idea of what we’d learn in the doing.
Related, I once managed—mostly successfully—to wrangle a 6-foot iguana which had horrifically befouled itself, into a warm, steamy shower enclosure, myself remaining outside. It occurred to me to use long oven mitts, to grab from behind, and to keep her oriented so her thrashing tail swung in a plane not including any of me. Through that experience I learned a lot about an iguana’s claws, the true range-of-motion of that body plan’s limbs, and the level of focus and determination she had from millions of years of evolution. We also developed a new relationship: me, wary. Her, indefatigable drive to some day murder my pasty, clawless ass.
Although diffuse thinking comes in the guise of a break from focus, our minds are still working. Often, it’s only after we switch away from this mode that we realize our brains were indeed working for us. Moving into diffuse mode can be a very brief phenomenon, such as when we briefly stare into the distance before returning to work.
It is a most interesting mode of thinking. Even after protracted wondering, it’s not clear to me what exactly is the list of things necessary to intentionally slip into the mode of thinking. So I’ll start with some things that will prevent me, every time: Being exhausted or even very-tired will prevent my diffuse thinking. Because settling in, physically and mentally, is also how I go to sleep. Being overly energetic will prevent my diffuse thinking. It’s as if the mind is the driver atop the elephant, and the elephant must be in the mood to follow, not in the mood to frolic or smash.
In conversation there must be, as in love and in war, some hazarding, some rattling on; nor need twenty falls affect you, so long as you take cheerfulness and good humor for your guides; but careful and measured conversation is always, though perfectly correct, extremely dull and tedious—a vast blunder from first to last.
~ Arthur Martine from, Martine’s Hand-book of Etiquette and Guide to True Politeness
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“Kid, anyone can fix it with the right tools. It takes a real mechanic to fix it with a peach basket full of junk,” was the punch-line life-lesson from a story my dad used to tell from his first days in the elevator trade.
I’ve mentioned this book by Martine before. Large parts of it are patently ridiculous. But there are parts of it which are solid.
Anyone can learn something from a well-written book. But it takes a first-rate mind, and a lot of practice, to read through a peach-basket full of assorted crap, find the right parts, and find a lesson or three along the way.
Creating value is unrelated to busyness. When you find yourself — as I sometimes do — working long hours, day after day, reacting and e-mailing and hatching schemes, it’s useful to remember that you’re working more than some of the world’s most respected and impactful thinkers.
I often write about focus because it’s something I’m trying to improve. When I’ve lost focus, it’s a challenge to call myself back to the important things. But a better plan for improvement would be to not lose focus in the first place, or at least to not lose focus as often.
Recently I’ve been keeping in mind Viktor Frankl’s thought about there being a space between stimulus and response. I find that when I’m able to remember that space, I’m able to consciously decide when, and if, I should shift my focus.
For example, I sat down to write and a myriad of other thoughts arose. Instead of trying to ignore them or make them go away—don’t think of a pink elephant—I zoom in on each idea: I consider the sense of urgency; no, actually there’s nothing urgent about the action this thought is suggesting. I consider the sense of entitlement; no, actually there’s no reason that I should be congratulated or rewarded for this thought or what it’s suggesting I attempt to do. I consider the benefit to myself or others; no, actually this thought isn’t vastly better than the other ideas and projects I’m already working. Soon enough the thought moves along like a petulant child. I think, “let’s see, where was I? I had sat down to write.”
Externally, that whole process—even if I repeat it for multiple thoughts—looks very unlike busyness. It looks much like I’m sitting still. It looks like I’m gazing out the window. It even looks a bit like I’m focused on writing. In fact, I am still focused on writing.
It’s my choice: Is this the moment when I want to change where I’ve placed my focus? If not, then terrific, I’m still focused where I had chosen.
What impact can parkour have on recovery and personal growth after a serious health challenge?
Nancy Lorentz opens up about her experience fighting cancer, and the role that parkour played in her recovery. She unpacks how her recovery inspired the idea of PK Move, and shares her ‘parkour origin story.’ Nancy discusses her thoughts on parkour’s growth and spirit, PK Move’s current goals, and finishes with her insights on how to attract older individuals to parkour.
[A]t the time of the diagnosis and going forward from there, I was not thinking about how parkour was part of this until afterward. I think once you are in that situation, you’re just going through the steps and getting through the treatment and what you have to do— the surgery or whatever. The fact is that, it did occur to me afterward— I thought, oh my gosh, [yes.] I really do say that parkour saved my life.
~ Nancy Lorentz (5:13)
Nancy Lorenz shares her personal journey of surviving cancer and how parkour became a crucial part of her recovery. She describes how the physical and mental resilience built through parkour helped her endure treatment and how this experience inspired her to co-found PK Move, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing parkour to underserved communities. The conversation covers her introduction to parkour, the challenges she faced during and after her illness, and how the supportive community around her played a significant role in her healing process.
The discussion highlights the mission and vision of PK Move, which focuses on providing adaptive parkour training to individuals who may face barriers to participating in traditional gym environments. Nancy details how PK Move brings parkour directly to people in their own communities, particularly targeting older adults and cancer survivors. Additionally, she reflects on the broader impact of parkour and the importance of preserving its core philosophy as it expands into mainstream fitness spaces.
Takeaways
Parkour and Recovery — Parkour played a crucial role in aiding physical and mental recovery from cancer.
Community Support — A supportive parkour community can make a significant difference during personal health battles.
Inspiration for PK Move — Personal experiences with illness and recovery inspired the founding of PK Move to make parkour more accessible.
Target Audience — PK Move focuses on underserved communities, including older adults and those facing physical challenges.
Health Benefits — Parkour can improve muscle mass, mental resilience, and overall health, which are important for aging populations and cancer survivors.
Adaptive Training — PK Move adapts parkour training for people with mobility issues, ensuring inclusivity.
Expanding Parkour — The future of parkour may involve integration into mainstream fitness, but maintaining its philosophical roots is essential.
Overcoming Stereotypes — Educating the public and challenging misconceptions about parkour can help broaden its appeal to different demographics.
Strategic Growth — PK Move aims to scale its PK Silver program to reach more older adults, emphasizing fall prevention and functional fitness.
Resources
PK Move — A nonprofit organization co-founded by Nancy Lorenz that focuses on bringing adaptive parkour to underserved communities.
Urban Evolution — A parkour gym in Alexandria where Nancy Lorenz trained and found support during her recovery.
Forever Young Program — A UK-based parkour program focused on older adults, which inspired the PK Silver initiative.
National Breast Center Foundation — A foundation supported by PK Move’s fundraising events, helping underinsured women receive cancer care.
Tempest Freerunning Academy — A welcoming parkour gym that left a lasting impression on Nancy Lorenz during her travels.
One day I’ll be a filmmaker! One day I’ll be a famous artist! One day I’ll be a CEO! One day I’ll be a Creative Director! One day I’ll be a Venture Capitalist! And so forth.
Then you get to a certain age and you realize that the time for “One Day” is over. You’re either doing it, or you’re not. And if you’re not, a feeling of bitter disappointment starts hitting you deep into the marrow. Which explains why we all know so many people in their 30s and 40s having mid-life crisis’.
Whether I’m different, or have already passed through that, I know not. What I can tell you is that my problem is not at all a feeling of not doing what I want to do.
My problem is the feeling that I am doing too many different things. All things I’ve chosen. All things which I’m passionate about. All things which are cool, rewarding, meaningful and make the world a better place.
I think the problem is more subtle. It’s an example of two systems without a security vulnerability coming together to create a security vulnerability. As we connect more systems directly to each other, we’re going to see a lot more of these. And like this Google/Netflix interaction, it’s going to be hard to figure out who to blame and who — if anyone — has the responsibility of fixing it.
I’m on a “security” tirade here for a few days, so here’s my strategy for security: Get off the peak of the bell curve.
If someone wants your stuff, they will take it. Actors can always, if sufficiently motivated, apply more resources than you have available for defense. Therefore, one should not bother defending (worry, spending crazy amounts of resources,) against a “motivated” attacker. Instead, deploy defense in depth and then make incremental improvements everywhere.
The first Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of another star has been confirmed by observations with both the W. M. Keck Observatory and the Gemini Observatory. The initial discovery, made by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, is one of a handful of smaller planets found by Kepler and verified using large ground-based telescopes. It also confirms that Earth-sized planets do exist in the habitable zone of other stars.
Mark you calendar: April 17, 2014. First confirmation of the existence of a HABITABLE planet… Temperature, gravity, rocky (like the Earth)… A. HABITABLE. PLANET. I got chills reading this.
